into the record from a congressman to governor hochul speaking about at the penn station center being led by mta where the chairman is appointed by the governor of new york and the cost is over $7 billion. >> without objection, so ordered. i apologize, votes were supposed to be at 4:00, they have been moved to 3:00. we have four or five votes. we will come back here. pursuant to the previous order, the committee will there are only 7 or 8 more questioners so the committee stands in recess. [inaudible conversations]

>> again, we were told that the votes would be at 4:15 and they were at 3:00 o'clock. i apologize. two more votes than we were supposed to. so the chair recognizes mr. burleson from missouri. >> thank you, mr. chairman, i'm just still kind of trying to understand the connection between our ice officers and the gastopo. i think the statement was

horrific. the acting ice director had this to say on the final day of national police week when those brave enough to put on a damage and morning their fallen brothers and sisters, tim walz refer today my professional hard-working ice agents and officers add modern-day gestapo. ignorant comments should not be tolerated. it seems that mr. walz prefers violent criminal aliens released in minnesota's communities. the governor doesn't like the laws, he's supposed to advocate that congress change them but he should refrain from putting ice officers in danger by likening them to one of the most appalling groups in history. assaults against ice officers are up over 400% from this time last period and part of that is e politicians like governor walz are careless.

he should initiate an immediate apology to the men and women's protecting their communities. gov. hochul: i don't use language like that in describing anyone. we respect our law enforcement but also -- >> governor pritzker, do you agree with that association? associating i.c.e. officers with gestapo? gov. pritzker: i will say that i understand the sentiments that people feel. >> we thank you for being reasonablel, next-door governor walz is a group that is meeting today, the zionist organization of america. and i spoke with morton klein, who is their national president, and he had this to say. and why do me to read this to you. as a child of holocaust survivals, who lost almost my whole family to gestapo nazis i find governor walz comparing

american officials to nazi an insult. i demand he retracted apologized for this ugly, funny statement that diminishes the horror of the holocaust." i'm going to give you another chance, governor walz, do you apologized for your associating, your comparis-ing to i.c.e. states as gestapo? gov. walz: what i said, using an historical reference on authoritarianism, watching in my state and across this country, -- >> it is a simple question. will you apologized to this jewish community, will, you apologized to jewish americans? gov. walz: i do not know mr. klein. i'll be glad to meet with him. >> let me ask you this question. are you any events that you regret from actions of illegal immigrants in your state? are there any, any events that

come to mind, that you think of that way on you? -- weigh on your? gov. walz: any, something to harm someone. >> minnesota, april 25, i.c.e. arrested an illegal alien from ecuador charged with criminal sexual contact with the child. in minnesota on may 8, i.c.e. arrested an illegal alien from mexico for selling heroin, meth and sentinel. mr. pritzker, and chicago, in illegal alien from mexico is charged with aggravated criminal sex abuse of a minor and released back into the public. in new york, on an was charged for slashing a victim with a machete. and released in january disappeared all -- all ignoring i.c.e. detainers and federal wars.

rants. gov. walz: can you give the names of these individuals? >> these are true, somebody from axle door charged with criminal sexual -- someone from ecuador was charged with criminal sexual. gov. walz: if they follow their due process, and found guilty, we follow federal law. >> your states, on, refused to honor i.c.e. detainers, even for illegal aliens, accused of serious crimes. the i.c.e. data shows 56 point -- 56,791 illegal aliens book for serious offenses in 2020 alone including 3000 for sex crime. >> the jim o'neill's back. the chair recognizes mr. crane from arizona. >> thank you, mr. chairman. governor walz you stated your

opening statement, but nothing minnesota has done stands in the way of federal government managing its border security policy. governor i want to ask you why you lying to this committee? gov. walz: i am not. >> who is the top law enforcement officer in the state of minnesota? gov. walz: the top law enforcement officer, the attorney general. >> what is his name? gov. walz: are you ask me, do you know his name? i know his name. ag ellison. >> this is an article, minnesota ag says will not enforce federal immigration laws. >> so order. >> why you lying to this critic, that is the top law enforcement officer of the state saying he will not comply with the federal government. gov. walz: nothing changes the fact that state law requires all state and county officials to ask for immigration status when a convicted felon -- >> i'm sorry, governor, he is, he is saying he will not comply with federal laws.

gov. walz: nothing in the subpoena changes this. >> you are lying and misrepresenting yourself to this committee. now i want to ask you this. do you think, in that line of questioning, free health care, food assistance, free college tuition, drivers licenses, and cash assist as citizens, do you think that is helping or hurthing this government? gov. walz: minnesota ranks first in health care, we rank thi rd -- >> let me answer that for you. it is certain. gov. walz: it is making a safer and more profitable. there's no sanctuary law in minnesota. >> you guys have not put it that way on the books but your state has every element in it that is consistent with the sanctuary state. moving on, mr. walz, how about you calling i.c.e. agents modern-day gestapo? do you think that helps our, our federal government carry out law enforcement? gov. walz: i think that --

identifying who you are in identifying the vehicles and making sure that everyone that is due process helps law enforcement i think covering your face is -- >> do you think that cut that helps, what does i.c.e. stand for, governor? immigration, custom, enforcement, right these are the guys tasked with enforcing immigration. >> that's right. it is not the state's job. >> do you think that calling them gestapo, none of the messaging, none of the rhetoric to stand in the way of this administration doing what they've been tasked to do, is that what you're saying? gov. walz: i think that would help them is to follow due process and when they do these missions, do the things that we expect of law enforcement. >> how about when you went on anderson cooper, governor walz, you said how high is this wall? if it is 25 feet, i will invest in a 30 foot ladder factor. do you think that helps our federal government carry out its law enforcement, its border security and policy operations? gov. walz: when did i say that? >> you went on anderson cooper

and said that. you not remember saying that because you said so many outlandish things you cannot even keep track of them? the clip is there for all americans. if you guys want to go watch it, it's an easy google. all right, governor, he recently went on gavin newsom's podcast. you stated in regards to maga noters, i scared them a little bit which is why they spend so much time on me. i'm serious because they know i can fix -- that's a direct quote. you also set on the show i think i could kick most of their asses. i want to be very clear, you do scare us a bit but it is not because you can fix the truck or change a tire. it's actually because of your radical left-wing agenda. you supported putting tampons in boys' bathrooms, you advocated for the disarming's of americans, their second mems crime cut your pro se tory city as we uncovered here today. you claim there is no guarantee

to free speech when it comes to misinformation and hate speech. that right there is why the american people have such a hard time with you. it's because. it is not because we are crazy maga people, it is because of your radical left-wing agenda. i want to ask you on that last one, when you claim there is no guarantee to free speech, did you kick that up on one of your 30 trips to communist china, governor? that's sound like something they would do. yes or no? gov. walz: i don't believe hate speech has a place. hate speech that incites violence. you said that >> how well did you do to white guys? lost by 22 points to white guys, because you have for you and you talk like you say you do, and you have this radical left-wing ideology bid, go on brother, will keep destroying you in elections. gov. walz: the people of

minnesota will continue to have me serve them. >> chair recognizes mr. ramirez from illinois. >> thank you, chairman. i want to start by acknowledging governor pritzker from our great state of illinois and thank them for coming before the committee. especially given the deeply on serious nature of this hearing. i want to start by asking governor pritzker a few questions. governor, you have said that actions that bring all branches of government underpin the guardrails of democracy, is your assessment that this administration's actions reflect the commitment to stand and respect of all branches of government or onto the guardrails of our democracy? gov. pritzker: thank you very much, congresswoman. it is good to see you. this administration has ignored court orders, this administration has ignored the laws that have been passed by the congress. this administration is in many ways telling its agencies not to follow what the laws and the

regulations that have been on the books and this administration has been going after people individually and as groups that they believe our opponents of their, political opponents of theirs. that is not the way a president should operate. we ought to have a president that follows the rule of law does not break it. >> i agree there. in your budget address you noted that her state, the state of illinois is among the best in the nation for work to talent. clean energy, educational and scientific institutions, and more. i could not agree with you more. our economy is over $1.1 trillion. the fifth largest in the u.s., and the 18th largest in the world. and i understand that we are one of only nine states including new york and minnesota whose taxpayers contribute more to the federal government than they receive. i want to make sure i put that to the record. this is who we are putting here

at a hearing. governor, earlier this year you noted that the authority and playbook is laid bear. they point to a group of people that do not look like you and they tell you to blame them for your problems. governor pritzker, do you believe the trump administration is using the authoritarian playbook particularly as it relates to immigrant communities across the country? gov. pritzker: it's clear when you look at every action they have taken with regard to immigration since they have taken office including going in and attacking our communities and the state of illinois. i think in the first week in office, tom homan, bringing dr. phil, with him, un seriously and bringing the very serious i.c.e. officials in to break down doors, to scare communities, to keep people from going to work and so on. it is clear that they are targeting communities of people who do not look like them to him and going after people that they think are opponents of theirs,

or -- >> including united states senators. gov. pritzker: thank you, including alex padilla and by the way i want to say to all of you, all of you on both sides of a particular those on the republican side, that i cannot believe the disrespect that was shown to united states senator who was thrown down, handcuffed, and not allowed to ask a question of our secretary of homeland security, kristi noem. that seems completely irrational. >> i agree with you. because i have a limited time, i want to show the footage because i think what you're saying has to be seen. i'm going to asked that we play a clip of senator padilla being wrongfully arrested while they are -- go ahead and play it. a. united states senator i want to make sure the people see. >> all right. lay flat. lay flat. >> other hand, sir.

other hand. [handcuffs clicking] >> there is no recording allowed on here. >> they don't want your recording so that you do not see how they violate due process repeatedly. i want to make sure that you see that footage. this is united states senator. asking a question of secretary noem and -- in return he is pulled from a press conference, shop to the floor, slammed to the ground with handcuffs, arrested for doing his job of oversight. let me go ahead and make sure that i say this clear because i serve in homeland security and i can tell you for a fact, they are weaponizing the government and the military against u.s. citizens. to exert control and suppress the -- dis ssent. i call that authoritarian.

here's a point, terror, this is what they are doing. this hearing is a withc hunt against governors that were unsuccessful cities. but what we need here right now is secretary noem and dance answering questions and oversight why the hell she thinks that what happens to the senator is acceptable? >> hopefully get to see the beginning of the tape when he approached, the, the podium where the secretary was. >> to ask a question. >> mr. chairman, senator padilla is currently in los angeles exercising his duty to perform congressional oversight of the federal government operations in los angeles and across california. it was in the wilshire federal building to receive a briefing with a general and was listening to secretary noem's press conference and he tried to ask the secretary question and was removed by federal agents, forced to the ground as your

side and handcuffed. he is not currently detained and we are working to get additional information. and while we respect the senate's ability to review this as a primary investigation, we also echo ms. ramirez's statement that we would like to have an investigation of that incident here from beginning to end. >> you want to enter that into the record? >> i do. >> without objection, so order. now the chair recognizes mr. mr. -- mr. jack. ok, wait a minute. we did two republicans we will go to mr. golden. >> i would urge you to reserve comment on what happened to mr. padilla until you get full information. in fact, i would urge all of my republican colleagues to take a breath before you once again

desperately run to bend the knee to donald trump and kristi noem. because, anyone with two eyes that can see, can see that that was authoritarian, lawless behavior that no person in america, much less a senator conducting constitutional oversight, should have received. and i know it is hard for all of you to speak up against donald trump. and that is why we are here at this hearing. talking all about joe biden. talking all about joe biden's policy that, policy them here at all of these people who committed crimes under joe biden. is it just because you are consistently trying to ignore the fact that joe biden is not president? donald trump is president. and what he's doing right now, which you all know, is he is going after people who are lawfully present. now, i appreciate the governors

being here. i'm sorry you have to deal with this crap. governor hochul, especially, i want you to know, as a proud member of the delegation of your state, i'm not going to use my five minutes to mount a campaign for governor against you as my colleague from the north country chose to do. i will give you the opportunity to actually answer some questions. unlike she did. i will allow you to explain exactly what the policies in new york are as it relates to cooperation between the state and federal agents. gov. hochul: first of all, glad you're not running against me. thank you. secondly, ij appreciate the opportunity to break through all the noise here today and to stop the talking points that keep mischaracterizing our policies in the great state of new york.

new york is not a sanctuary or haven for criminals. we devote an enormous amount of our energy working to keep new yorkers safe, $2.5 billion i've allocated, the last few years. we do cooperate with i.c.e. when it comes to investigating or building a case against criminals. we do this all the time. and when someone goes through the criminal justice system in the state of new york, they do their time in prison, we alert i.c.e. as to when, 30 days in advance, as to when they will be removed and we send them away. that is how it is supposed to work. but what we do not do under our laws is to vote -- divert essential resource to protect every day and have that help i.c.e. with civil immigration enforcement. that is the federal government's job. we cannot be told to enforce federal laws. it is not constitutional. >> or use all your limited

resources to spend all that time doing their job. gov. hochul: my concern is that every minute that i.c.e. officers are going after moms and dads and kids and separating families, perhaps more room -- one more criminal is out there are large. why not focus on it? >> sorry to interrupt but i in my district office in lower manhattan witnessed i.c.e. officers waiting for immigrants to come out of a courtroom. these are immigrants who have asylum applications. and i'm sure you agree with me that asylum is a lawful path which immigrate to this country, correct? gov. hochul: that is absolutely correct. >> so, in order to make these immigrants here unlawfully, the dhs is now dismissing their cases, their own removal proceedings to void out the asylum claim. that way, when they go downstairs to the elevated, there are i.c.e. agents that can be there, and to arrest them and put them an expedited removal.

and they do not have an asylum claim that is live anymore because they have just avoided it out. these are non-criminal, these are non-violent, immigrants who are here going through lawful process. and this is who the trump administration is going after every single day. it's a disgrace. you asid you were going to go after the worst of the worst. you said you would go after convicted criminals. you are questioning about all these criminals. you're going after people who actually are going through the lawful process. you say that they should. but, just because donald trump and stephen miller need to bump up their numbers because they cannot do a good enough job and actually finding convicted criminals, you are going after moms, dads, separating parents from children. you have a voice, republicans. speak up! i yield back.

>> now chair recognizes mr. jack. ok. mr. mcguire from virginia. >> this is a yes or no question hopefully fast because i do not have much time. if you break the law, are your criminal? can you guys answer that quickly? we do not have much time. gov. pritzker: in certain circumstances, many circumstances, yes. >> if you come across our border illegally, -- gov. pritzker: if you speed, are your criminal? >> according to the law, that is a crime. you come across the border illegally in your criminal. governor prisoner, or illegal aliens counted in the u.s. census? gov. pritzker: every person in the united states is cou nted. >> year after year, tens of thousands of u.s. citizens are fleeing the state of illinois, ranks only behind governor

hochul's new york and governor newsom's california, you all are protecting and -- illegal aliens for political purposes. governor pritzker, would you support prohibiting illegal aliens from being counted in the census, yes or no? gov. pritzker: your numbers are wrong, sir. your numbers are wrong. >> yes or no. would you support prohibiting illegal aliens from being counted in the census? harbooring illegal aliens part of a stretch to get more democrats in congress? all illegal aliens that committed a crime should be deported. in the act of violence, committed by an illegal aliens isn't entirely preventable to it all sanctuary jurisdictions are unlawful, each of you are breaking the law. and my message to you, the message from the people is you need to get straight. governor walz, just over three weeks ago you compared i.c.e. agents to uh, trump's, modern-day gestapo. do you regret those comments? gov. walz: i regret that law

enforcement is not following best practices showing who they are, not taking people off the street, not giving due process. putting all of us at risk. >> there are men and women in law enforcement. yes or no, do you know i.c.e. officers are facing 413% increase in assaults? gov. walz: don't wear the mask, identify yourself and work with local law enforcement. >> your guys, your attacks on i.c.e. officers are putting our law officers in deadly situation. president trump had no choice to step up and stop los angeles from burning buildings to the ground- did you see videos of riders throwing rocks the windows of police officers vehicles driving on the highway? did you guys see that? again, we did not have a country with our men and women in law enforcement, and 2023 you signed

legislation to expand eligibility for taxpayer funded health care, and driver's licenses. let's take a look at some of the illegal aliens you so boldly want to support with taxpayer funds. i will probably say his name wrong but -- illegal alien from somalia, criminal history includes convictions of murder, dui and disorderly conduct eric martinez, from mexico, a known member of 18th street gang, he served time in robbery and possession of a firearm. and marco brenda, and eat illegal alien from ecuador, he was convicted of illegal sexual conduct of a child. taxpayer -- bring in vicious dogs who are robbin' rapin' and killin our citizens. our americans are tired of this

maga, to me it means make america great again, for all americans regarding regardless of property, race, religion or creed. america first. and that is why we won the presidency and we got the senate and the house. if you had a basketball team, and you hate your basketball team, you will never win. and we have a heart and love all people in the world. but we cannot take care of our country if we are allowing these illegal criminal aliens to rob, rape and kill the american people. that is wrong and that is why we won. if you guys give it up, we'll keep winning. gov. walz: congress and, can i respond to the two cases? i think it is important you want to know what we are doing. mr. alamni was held in jail gov. walz: governor hochul, -- she fell asleep on a subway as she was set on fire and killed by illegal alien from guatemala. this could've been prevented. and what upsets me are strikes me the most is that a democrat run cities people are so

desensitized by the violence and the policies that people just stood by and watched that happen. what can we do better? gov. hochul: the entire situation sickens me to know that that happened in our state. i up all crimes and that one was particularly heinous. that is why my law enforcement are dedicated to keeping the streets and subways and communities of our state safe. it is my number one party. it is how i've invested in norman's amounts of resources. and just for the record, we do cooperate in criminal identification prosecution and removal of individuals who commit crimes who are not in this country legally. we want them deported pee-wee cooperate with i.c.e. every day of the week to make our streets safer. i'm not sure why that is not breaking through in this hearing how many times can we say that? we are not supporting this. we do not want these individuals here. we abhor this violence and crime. that should be the take away pit how can we work together, how can you do your job and help us secure the border and have more

legal pathways for people who want to be here illegally and contribute to our economy, but not the criminals? we are not a sanctuary for any criminals. >> yield back. >> gentlemen's time is expired to the chair recognizes miss morrison from minnesota. >> thank you mr. chairman, i want to thank the witnesses for being here, especially you, governor walz. welcome back to the people's house. thank you for your distinguished service in the national guard, 24 years i believe your thank you for your service in congress and as our governor. i'm sorry you've not received the warmest welcome here today. but i would like to start by taking a moment to correct the record on a few points. i think all of us here would agree that violent criminals who are not citizens should not be in, full stop. but that is not what this hearing is about. this series about intimidation and striking fear in immigrant communities. this hearing unfortunately is not about moving forward with a comprehensive immigration reform our country so desperately

needs. it is about distracting the american people from the disaster that has been the first few months of the trump administration and his republican majority in congress. much like our state, my congressional district is diverse. i represent many immigrant families who call our commuting home and we welcome them because they make our community stronger. i recently had the honor of attending a naturalization ceremony where we welcomed new americans from 85 different countries. it was an incredibly moving day. an auditorium full of new americans, who are so excited and proud to join our great american project. the room was full of hope and patriotism. i could not have been more proud to welcome them and to participate in that day. we are a country of immigrants. it is what makes us strong and dynamic and unique in the world. my colleague's characterization of our state bears no resemblance to reality, would you agree, sir? minnesota is an incredible state with a wealth of business, industry, natural resources,

beauty and rich diversity. and it's a state where working families thrive, as you know, governor we worked together for six years when i was in the state legislature and i am so proud of what we accomplished. during that time. we delivered for the people of minnesota the largest middle-class tax cut and the history of our state. historic investments in education, created a paid family medical leave program, that allows working families to care for their children and their loved ones. codifying the right to comprehensive reproductive health care. and providing school breakfasts and lunches for k-12 students. if we want to talk about protecting our children and families, let's talk about the chaotic tariff war president trump starter which is serving to make life less affordable for families and decimating small businesses. let's talk about the 16 million people who are going to lose their health care or will have their health care taken away from them by the republicans and their ridiculously named big beautiful bill.

let's talk about the millions of children who will go hungry if the republicans are successful in taking away their food assistance. governor walz, since my republican colleagues want to talk about threats to our children and families, let's talk about food insecurity. it has now been over two years since you signed the school meals legislation into law. what has been the impact of this program on fighting child hunger in minnesota? gov. walz: thank you, congresswoman. and we miss you in minnesota. but glad you are here. well, the direct impact of families is a savings about $1700 a year to those families, that they are able to see and mostly middle-class but the real impact is on educational achievement. last year, minnesota was able to notch the highest graduation rates in our state history. we see school attendance rates go up. we see better behaviors, less discipline from it. so, it is a smart investment. it is the right thing to do. and the pay offer minnesota is we have a healthier, better

educated workforce. which is why minnesota almost always ranks near the top and quality of life indicators. >> thank you, governor. i want to talk about the republican plan to take food assistance away from children families. if they're better becomes law, it would be the biggest cut to snap in history and jeopardize food assistance for millions across the country including 100,000 minnesota's common many of whom are children. would we agree with that republican proposal to cut snap is one of the biggest threats facing children and families in minnesota right now? gov. walz: yes, coupled with medicare and medicaid cuts. >> also, governor walz, i just want to give you a moment to if there is anything you would like to clarify that has been said in this unbelievable committee hearing today, i do not even know what the adjective is. gov. walz: we have 30 seconds. we are here to work with you. you've heard time and time again we have a job to do as governor spared the federal government has a job to do. not doing i.c.e.'s job is not interference or not wanted to

get these people. in then gemma asked the question and then left, the gentleman he brought up with, we hold them, we paid for and we called sha. -- understand why do not work together be successful. dhs. none of us want the criminals a mystery but i went immigrants in minnesota who are contribute to our quality of life. te gentlelady's time is expired. chair recognizes miss bovary from colorado. >> the los angeles riots are certainly a shameful explosion of lawlessness that we are once again seeing the narrative has changed, and these rights but it certainly, um, the same type of actors. we are seeing businesses torched, cars torched. families uprooted, certainly communities that are scared.

and this is by no means a peaceful protest. it is absolute chaos. and rioters do not get a free pass to burned-out cities because they are mad that our nation's laws are being upheld. that are federal agents are of their growth, and, doing what they were, uh, hired to do. our first responders deserve respect. they do not deserve to have rocks thrown at them. and to be injured. let's be honest, this file is to not spark in a vacuum. sanctuary policies are magnet for trouble. they shield criminals, undermining the rule of law and governors, i sat here and i've heard you today, you say that safety is your number one priority. you want your communities safe. you want your people safe. and governor hochul, you just asked how can we can work together to ensure that happen

that is exactly what we want to do. we want to talk about your safeway policy speed you're preventing us from working with you to keep europe community say because we went them safe as well. i have the same policies in colorado. that restrict our local law enforcement from coordinating with federal agents. and some of my counties have issued losses to end that. but this is serious, and we owe it to every american to restore safety and enforce our laws. it is been stated that this is a federal law. it is not your job to uphold the federal law. we are not asking you to uphold it, we are asking her to step out of the way and allow the federal government to do the job. to uphold these laws. when you have someone, don't wait until they commit, a violent, heinous crime before we know their immigration status. so now we are seeing these riots

everywhere, we have heard in 2020, it was mostly peaceful, cities burned down as people lost their lives as law enforcement officers lost their lives. i just want to ask you three governors, yes work no, -- yes or not, is the destruction of private and governmental property, is that something that fits under definition of a peaceful protest? governor walz, yes or no? gov. walz: no, it does not. gov. pritzker: i find it hard to believe that you are lecturing us about peaceful protest or look at what happened january 6 here at the capitol. >> you want to talk about insurrection. gov. pritzker: you do not understand what insurrection is. people are trying to overturn an election. you were here, they were attacking you, by the way. >> i would expect the same. gov. pritzker: i'm answer your question. it is outrageous -- >> is a peaceful to destroy?

gov. pritzker: when you are condoning the people who attacked the police right here at our capitol? >> it is been a long day. does that fit under your definition of a peaceful protest, the destruction of private and government property? gov. hochul: no and we feel for the business owners in the community. gov. pritzker: yes o >> yes or no, would lighting police cars fire fight under peaceful protest? gov. walz: we reject that. >> throwing bricks or large rocks at officers, is that peaceful? gov. pritzker: whether it is in the los angeles. gov. hochul: no, it is not acceptable. gov. pritzker: governor pritzker, half you or have you not called for mass protests and mobilization and disruption? gov. pritzker: indeed,

microphones, megaphones and going to the ballot box. >> well, they are responding in a much different way. president trump -- gov. pritzker: gov. pritzker: "this is a history of this country. rep. boebert: president trump has a different standard. gov. pritzker: inciting riots at the capitol? a boebert you have destruction as response to president trump's policies. this is all hypocritical. you called up your national guard. you don't want president trump to come in and enforce the rule of law to keep communities safe. and your destructive tele-seas are harming american citizens. we should not have to wait until violence is committed to find out their legal status. we have 2 million unknown because of joe biden's administration, and we have to get them out of america, and i think president trump and his administration are doing just that. >> the chair recognizes ms.

craig from minnesota. rep. craig: i think if i were a permanent member of this committee i would have a permanent headache. chair: you won't have to worry about it, but go ahead. rep. craig: governor -- governor walz, it is so good to see you today. we should all be against chaos. we all are for a safe and secure border and orderly immigration system. what we are seeing now, though, is chaos under the current administration, with their blatant disregard for due process and their indiscriminate immigration executive orders. in fact, the trump administration's department of homeland security had to take down its posted sanctuary jurisdictions list because it created mass confusion for local officials, and was opposed by local law enforcement. so, governor walz, let me just start, just so we know the record is correct. i did not think minnesota was a sanctuary state. his minnesota century state, governor?

sen. balls -- gov. walz: we are not. i have signed no such law and we follow the law. simple craig that list included 20 counties across minnesota with no line -- rhyme or reason, including the county i represent. i inquired why they are listed from dhs, but still absolutely no answers. governor walz, i thought it might be helpful to point out that according to the fbi's own 2023 data, minnesota has fewer violent incidents per 100,000 then states such as tennessee, louisiana, missouri, texas, alabama, georgia, i'm going to repeat that again, georgia, and ohio. why do you think our state has been able to maintain a lower crime rate than other states? gov. walz: thank you, congresswoman. we are at a 30 year low unserious crimes. i think that is because we invest in law enforcement, but

law enforcement works with the community. there is a process in place. we know who they are. they work hand in hand. we make sure laws are followed. we also have policies where we show compassion to our neighbors. it is not chaos, as you said. it is done right. i am grateful for the law enforcement that does that work, but also grateful to the legislature, which -- and we have put historic amounts of help make sure they can deliver those services. they are best trained to do it. in the case that you brought up, in minnesota, counties can go above the federal floor if they want to issue detainers. many of the counties that were listed in their would fit the definition of everyone on this side of the aisle is asking for it, and nothing prevents them in minnesota for doing that, and yet there is chaos, and law enforcement themselves and sheriffs association are issuing

that it cannot be done this way. sen. crapo: earlier, i spoke with the minnesota chamber of congress and most of us sure the goals of lowering costs for our constituents and lowering the economy. according to a minnesota chamber foundation report from this february, minnesota's immigrant labor force participation rate was 70%, well above the national average, and the fill important jobs in our agriculture, health care, and manufacturing sectors. how can we ensure minnesota remains a state to attract the talent we need and a strong economy? gov. walz: we invest in our people and make sure we remain the number one health care state. we make sure people are safe, focusing on the work that the state patrol keeps our roads safe. it is a top three state for the lowest number of traffic deaths. that is what they should be focusing on. minnesota is number four in fortune 500 companies per capita and a ranked the sixth best

state for business, continuing to have a well educated, healthy, safe community, investing in opportunities for people. that is all we are asking. we are asking that the federal government do their job. you continue to ask states to do ice jobs. they are free to do their job in minnesota, but they are asking us to do the job. we're doing everything we can to help, but we have all of the other responsibilities of educating, public safety, roads, transportation, water infrastructure. minnesota, we invest in our people. we invest in their growth. we invest in their families. sen. crapo: -- rep. craig: i appreciate this and i will lead the last 20 seconds to you. >> i am happy to take that. thank you very much. for these 12 seconds, i just want to read -- this is from a minnesota reformer from february 12, 2025. the sanctuary bill that was offered in the minnesota

legislature is already dead, as house speaker says it does not have the votes. rep. lynch: so this was an attempt to make minnesota a sanctuary state, and like the speaker said, it did not have the votes, and it died very early in the process. gov. walz: and we got to the business of balancing our budget and investing in the other things we needed to do. chair: ms. miller from illinois. rep. miller: thank you, chairman. evan or, illinois is at a crisis point. illegal aliens in our state have overwhelmed local communities and schools, causing untold pain and suffering, while costing illinois taxpayers billions. governor, in a recent report by capital news of illinois, you called for mass protests, for mobilization, and for disruption. chairman, i unanimous consent to

submit the capital news of illinois report titled from's 100 days, pritzker calls for mass mobilization as he grows his national profile. chair: without objection, so ordered. rep. miller: before we go further, will you commit today to working with the trump administration and ice to ensure that the violence we see in los angeles does not occur in chicago or anywhere else in our state, yes or no? rep. miller: -- gov. pritzker: thank you, cumbersome and miller. we work every day with the federal government to keep our state safe. all the time, we work with the federal government, law enforcement. rep. miller: i will take that as a yes. governor, you said earlier this afternoon that you were willing to, and i quote, stand in the way of tom homan, who i would like to note is carrying out federal law.

i have before me numerous examples of illegal alien violence in illinois, but i want to highlight the story of joe abraham, whose daughter was tragically murdered by an illegal alien in central illinois under your watch, sir. i will now read this account. hello. my name is joe abraham. i am a father of three, and katie was my youngest. katie had a beautiful soul, a sharp wit, and a huge personality. she loved life, and she lived it with authenticity, humor, and heart. she was the kind of person who succeeded at anything she put her mind to. she had a future full of promise. she was everything to our family. in the early hours of sunday, january 19, katie was writing in a honda civic with four friends. they were stopped at a red light when their car was struck from behind by an suv traveling 78

mph. the driver did not break. he did not swerve. he just slammed into them. the driver had previously been deported and was in the country illegally, using an alias. he was allegedly intoxicated. after the crash, he fled the scene on foot, without calling 911, without offering any help to the five women he had just hit. katie died at the scene, and another young woman passed away the next day at the hospital. instead of staying to face what he had done, the driver fled bana, made his way to chicago, and boarded a bus headed to mexico. thankfully, he was captured before fleeing the country. we share katie story not just to honor her memory, but to raise awareness and to seek justice. no family should have to endure this type of loss. sir, the family is here.

the father is here. would you like to apologize to katie's family? feel free to direct your comments to him. gov. pritzker: i am very sorry for their loss. rep. miller: i can only imagine what other instances have taken place but have not been reported. you have stated that illinois will not allow local police departments to assist ice as they work to address the illegal immigration crisis that you helped to create. in light of the crimes that i have mentioned, do you stand by your policy of tying the hands of illinois law enforcement? gov. pritzker: you know, congresswoman miller, i'm not going to be lectured to by somebody who -- adolf hitler, of somebody who has allowed january 6. rep. miller:. i am make -- i am becoming my time. you stated on msnbc that, and i quote, i'm going to do everything i can to protect our

undocumented immigrants. mr. chairman, s unanimous consent to submit a report into the record titled dem governor jb pritzker vows to do everything i can to affect our undocumented immigrants. gov. pritzker: that was talking about people who have lived in our state for decades now. rep. miller: these policies are not only deadly, but have cost illinois taxpayers billions since 2022. governor, your state budget does not balance without massive yearly tax increases. this year, you hiked taxes by $800 million. your budgets fund the services of illegal -- gov. pritzker: that is inaccurate. nearly everything is mischaracterized in your statement. rep. miller: governor, i judge you based on your actions, not on your words, and what i can tell, you are doing everything in your power to roll out the

red carpet for illegal aliens, to protect them, all at the expense of working people of illinois. your policies have been disastrous for the state, and they would be disastrous for our country. with that, i yield back. gov. pritzker: your failure has been a disaster. reppo supermen -- >> i first want to say that what happened this afternoon, this afternoon's manhandling of senator alex padilla, when he sought to speak in a public press conference was wrong and should be condemned by both parties, by every member in this chamber. it follows a pattern in this administration of weaponizing law enforcement, using excessive force to attack peaceful protests and political opponents. and it is really terrible. we are talking about -- we are

talking about what is going on in sanctuary states, quote unquote. i live in virginia and we are not a century state, but what is happening is that our sheriff's office is -- has made a decision to participate in the 287 g program, and basically, working with ice to show up in schools, show up in businesses, and try to basically attack kids, right? detain kids. and this is wrong. and this is not what our country is about. so i do not want us to be supporting these types of actions. yesterday, in sterling, virginia, we had masked men show up to a courthouse and detain people, arrest people, and a lot of this is peaceful, and again follows this pattern of weaponizing law enforcement, and

weaponizing the doj and other places to attack political opponents, attack peaceful protests, and to go around trying to make a political point, because i think that's what this is really about. this is about politics, and this is about using law enforcement to show strength, but that is not strength. that is not strength. so the other thing about this is none of this is making our communities safer, and none of this is good for our country. and so i want to ask governor walz -- do these raids and do these actions and this use of law enforcement -- visit making folks in minnesota safer? gov. walz: thank you, come rissman. in my opinion, no. it is causing chaos and fear. characterizing folks waiting on asylum claims, trying to become naturalized -- it causes chaos. the other thing it causes -- local law enforcement -- they lose trust in the community.

it puts them at risk. the lack of coordination that we hear that no calls are coming -- we always coordinate. in the past, democratic and republican administration's have coordinated with us. we are not seeing it. it is creating chaos and fear. yes, these violent criminals, we hold them. we call dhs, but they are not at a preschool. that is what we have to get right. get us a bipartisan bill that makes sure that folks can get processed and be documented, and let's make this country prosperous. rep. subramanyam: that is a great point. why don't we do a bipartisan immigration reform bill? we can strengthen a border. we can find a path for those who have been here a long time. we can actually solve this problem in congress. instead, we are going around with masked men intimidating people, throwing u.s. senators to the ground, and not solving any problem.

werner pritzker, i have talked to a lot of businesses in my community who are really concerned about what is going on, and this is not good for our economy either. i ask you, governor pritzker, what do you feel? is this making folks in your state safer or better off? gov. pritzker: congressman, thank you, and no. this is making us worse off. it is actually harming public safety. it is frightening our communities. and frankly, if you are one of the u.s. citizens that are getting taken off the streets, people who are here in this country legally, taken off the streets, imagine what effect that has on the rest of the population. in my state, we reject that. the values of the people of the state of illinois reject that. i just want to say, because congresswoman miller would not allow me to, i want to say very importantly that anyone who is condoning $400 million airplane going to the president of the united states from the qatari's, who would spy on us in and

instant, if they were able to do this -- anybody who is condoning the president of the united states accepting the chinese communist party money to his family through his mean coin, i mean, that is corruption. and yet that is what congresswoman miller is condoning. she is the one who thinks it is ok to pardon people who attacked police right here at the capitol. thank you for giving me that moment. chair: the chair recognizes ms. fischer pack from minnesota. rep. fischbach: thank you, mr. chair. i will just say that oversight is far likelier than ways and means. and governor walz, i want to say thank you for being here, because i know you have been very busy running around the country giving speeches and having town halls in republican states. gov. walz: passing balanced

budgets. rep. fischbach: you were running around while they were passing that. gov. walz: i'm a multitasker. rep. fischbach: there are questions about policies that provide benefits for illegal aliens, and i understand that you were going to say minnesota is not a sanctuary state per se, because the legislation was not passed. just a yes or no question. ranking member lynch had mentioned that there was a bill that was introduced for sanctuary state this year in the minnesota legislature. would you have signed that bill? did you support that bill? gov. walz: thousands of bills introduced, hypothetical. we don't have it. rep. fischbach: but we all know that you probably had some opinion on that bill, and you are just choosing not to answer because the answer was probably yes, you would have signed that bill, had it passed. but, like mr. amber, mr. crane, mr. maguire -- i think a bunch of them mentioned the policies that minnesota has, so yes, i

understand, you are not a century state per se, but the policies are certainly making it into i think, as i recall -- you mentioned driver's license for all, you mentioned the medicaid benefits. you know, so you are -- you in essence are a sanctuary state. gov. walz: you know the sheriff supported the driver's license bill. the hospitals. rep. fischbach: governor, and certainly aware of that. i served many years in the legislature. i have many friends there. i understand that. but in essence, they are creating a sanctuary state in practice. and so we are going to talk a little bit about the legislature. just earlier this week, both chambers of the minnesota legislature passed a bill you are probably familiar with. i don't know if you have signed it yet or not. it repeals minnesota care eligibility for illegal immigrants ages 18 and older.

with that recent repeal of eligibility for illegal immigrants, a policy that initially -- it is after my time -- was enacted, in 2023, under your administration. it is now being reversed with those budget negotiations. i was just wondering, first of all, do you know how many illegal immigrants were covered and are currently covered in minnesota with medicaid? gov. walz: i don't have the exact number. it is not medicaid. it is state that does this through minnesota care. rep. fischbach: you still don't know how many? so all of those negotiations you were deeply involved in earlier that you mentioned you were involved in -- that number never came up? gov. pritzker: -- gov. walz: i don't have it in front of me right now. we could certainly get it to you. rep. fischbach: i would love to have that. i understand -- did you support that provision that -- gov. walz: i will sign it into

law. rep. fischbach: did you support it during the negotiations? gov. walz: i'm going to sign the bill. rep. fischbach: the negotiations -- gov. walz: we are very good about it. that is why we have a balanced budget. i negotiated with the republicans. you know, congresswoman, that hospitals have uncompensated care. rep. fischbach: reclaiming my time because you are trying to -- trench change the subject. i asked you specifically, during negotiations, did you support the provision to eliminate illegal immigrants from health care. gov. walz: it's a question that makes no sense. at the end of the negotiation, i will sign it. rep. fischbach: you are in congress. you understand what reclaiming your time means. you understand that. i guess, there were concerns about snap provisions being cut, and -- but you supported that. i mean, you supported that over

the health care to illegal immigrants. i guess i am confused about it because you had other cuts you had to make. so what did you -- all of the things you guys have been talking about -- law enforcement, education, school breakfast and lunch -- did you cut that during budget negotiations this year? my understanding is that you have a deficit. gov. walz: we don't. we have a budget surplus, as you know. rep. fischbach: long-term. you had to make cuts this year. gov. walz: we have a balanced budget we agreed on. he left $1.9 billion on the bottom line for this biennium. rep. fischbach: but your structural budget had to be cut. you had to make cuts. no, you did not make any cuts? gov. walz: we balanced a budget. we moved in we invested. rep. fischbach: i have one more thing and i'm running out of time. i really do want to talk about -- you mentioned civility, or

someone mention civility. there was a discussion about civility. and it just -- mr. fallon had mentioned how you had said you want to kick republican -- you mentioned bullying. there is another thing where you said you were going to kick president trump. all kinds of things. and then you had a discussion about civility. i am embarrassed. you say you are an educator, and you are the governor of my state that i'm supposed to be proud of, and this is the kind of garbage, the example you are setting for our children, that you are telling people to bully each other? and i try hard not to say those kinds of things because i understand that it is meaningful when you hold a position like this. you should not be saying things like that. gov. walz: but you support the president's ladies -- presidents language? rep. fischbach: the president is not in front of me right now. chair: the chair recognizes the ranking member.

>> thank, mr. chairman. i have a statement from a distinguished or presented from minnesota that moves that the soda's crime is declining, 30 year low. it is one of the best places to raise a family in america, and it is not a century state. chair: the chair recognizes mr. lawler from new york. rep. lawler: governor hochul, new york has spent billions of dollars of taxpayer money providing free food and health care to illegal immigrants. meanwhile, you are charging hard-working new yorkers $2500 annually for the privilege of driving to work. speaking of driving, when you ran for congress, did you oppose giving driver's licenses to illegals, yes or no? gov. hochul: no, that was previous to that. reppo lawyer -- rep. lawler: you had a commercial. did you oppose giving drivers licenses to illegals when you were running for congress, yes or no?

gov. hochul: at the time i did, and i will tell you why. rep. lawler: yes or no. claiming my nine -- my time. governor, yes or no. do you support -- gov. hochul: to go to their jobs. chair: governor, answer the question. rep. lawler: you try to deflect. the fact is you did support giving illegals drivers licenses. i oppose giving illegals driver licenses. now you support it. do you support illegal immigrants getting taxpayer-funded health care, yes or no? gov. hochul: we provide health care to people in need, including moms with new babies. rep. lawler: do you support giving illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded health care. gov. hochul: we support giving money -- rep. lawler: expand health care access under medicaid. gov. hochul: for senior citizens, babies. i would do it over again. rep. lawler: reclaim my time. you said someone breaks the law, i will be the first one to call eyes and say get them out of here.

governor, have you personally called ice and asked them to get anyone out of new york? gov. hochul: as the governor of new york i have an entire state police force. rep. lawler: have you called ice and asked them to get anyone out of new york. gov. hochul: my state police act my agency, so when i say me, i'm referring to my entities, such as the state police. rep. lawler: like governor cuomo, i am the government? gov. hochul: that is your characterization. rep. lawler: should ice have been called on [indiscernible] he is the individual who burned a woman alive on the train. should ice have been called on him? gov. hochul: nypd was handling that situation. rep. lawler: should ice have been called? gov. hochul: if there was an arrest made, he should have been deported after conviction, yes. rep. lawler: you signed an executive order keeping many of governor cuomo's executive orders in place, including eo

170. you did not include io -- eo 170.1. gov. hochul: i don't have it in front of me. i have thousands of -- reppo lawyer -- rep. lawler: i have it right here. gov. hochul: i'm sure you do. rep. lawler: you waited until generally 16 of this year, in which you finally signed it and reinstated it into law. why did you wait until just four days before donald trump was sworn in as president to sign io 170.1 into law? it mandates that federal immigration authorities cannot enforce civil arrests in new york state buildings. why did you wait several years to reinstate that? gov. hochul: because we had a high level confidence that under the previous administration the people going to the courthouses, whether they are victims of crimes, witnesses of crimes, would have their rights protected. rep. lawler: you believe they

would not enforce federal immigration law and you were concerned that president and his administration would enforce federal integration law? gov. hochul: we thought it was important that victims of crimes and witnesses to murders could have access to court without being threatened. rep. lawler: speaking of crime, more than 3200 illegal immigrants have been arrested in new york city for committing crimes while living in taxpayer-funded housing under your watch, governor. are you aware of any law or executive order that would prevent a citizen of the united states from facing criminal or civil enforcement in the state? gov. hochul: not aware. rep. lawler: so you think citizens should have less protections than illegal immigrants? gov. hochul: our state laws say we cooperate in all federal cases. i made that very clear. rep. lawler: but you are not doing that as the reality. do you support the new york for all act?

reclaiming my time. do you support the new york for all act? gov. hochul: i'm not speaking on hypothetical bills. rep. lawler: this is not hypothetical. there was a city and in the state legislature today blocking state senators from coming into the chamber. do you support the new york for all act? gov. hochul: i will tell you this. i get about a thousand bills put on my desk. this is keeping me from doing work back home. rep. lawler: you have done a terrible job as governor. it is not keeping you from anything. new york is better off keeping you down here and not in the state. the fact is, governor, you will support the new york for all act. you will sign into law if it passes. gov. hochul: i have no confidence it is going to pass. i don't know. . i have thousand bills. rep. lawler: would you sign into law if it passed? you have to wait and see?

you cannot take a position? it would put into state statute that new york is a sanctuary state. that iy thats the exact reason u are sitting in front of us, testifying, because of your disastrous eo's, your disastrous pro-criminal policies that have resulted in the death of new yorkers. that is your failure. the fact is that you cannot even answer the question. gov. hochul: the reason i'm sitting here is because republicans are trying to pass a big bad ugly bill that's going to hurt them. chair: governor, would you sign the bill? gov. hochul: ask anybody in the state. i never say i'm going to vote on a bill until it lands on a desk. rep. lawler: you are governor of the state. gov. hochul: well aware. rep. lawler: it is shameful you cannot even answer the question. gov. hochul: when it lands on my desk, i will do the proper -- this is how you become a governor. chair: the chair recognizes the

ranking member. >> mr. chairman, i have a number of unanimous consent requests from the national immigration center. the national immigration justice center and the alliance for immigrants. chair: the chair recognizes mr. stolberg from minnesota. reppo stolberg -- >> thank you for being here today and i ask you to keep your remarks brief. as you know, i spent 23 years as a law-enforcement officer in the state of minnesota. you know that, right? you know that? yes or no? it is not a trick question. funny three years in duluth. -- 23 years in duluth. gov. walz: thank you for that. >> do you recognize this picture? gov. walz: i do recognize the picture. >> with the describe it. what is going on? gov. walz: these were folks -- i believe they are now incarcerated. >> it is a building burning down

because of your decision. was this a peaceful protest? was this a peaceful protest? gov. walz: the gentleman standing there? >> was this a peaceful protest? gov. walz: that was a criminal act that people were prosecuted for. >> so it was not a peaceful protest, right? as i watched the devastation in los angeles this past week, i was reminded of your failure to protect minnesota from similar riots. governor walz, on may 29, during your own press conference, you described your response to riots during the 2020 summer of love as "abject failure." could not agree with you more. gov. walz: that is out of context. >> on may 17, 2025, you went to law school, minnesota law school, and talk to graduates. we talked about this. you call the enforcement of illegal immigrants modern-day gestapo.

you have been asked three or four times if you would resend that, and you won't. will you resend it? this is like the fifth time. yes or no? gov. walz: you can talk to law students about due process. >> was there a violent al-shabaab terrorist to entered our country illegally arrested in minneapolis last year? yes, there was. where their three child predators arrested by ice in st. paul earlier this year? gov. walz: i certainly hope so. that is their job. >> yes, there was. are the officers who arrested the al-shabaab terrorists or the child predators -- are the nazis or gestapo? gov. walz: the tactics of wearing -- the tactics of wearing masks, unidentified, without due process -- >> why did you tell us they are the gestapo? do you believe that any of the illegal immigrants i mentioned have a right to be in this country? gov. walz: i don't know what

their immigration status was. >> they are illegal violent criminals that ice took off the streets of minneapolis! gov. walz: you did not say, congressman, what years -- what their status was. >> they took 900 pounds of meth off the streets. do you support that? gov. walz: we certainly do. fentanyl -- >> do you know i subsisted in those arrests and investigations? do you support the assistance of ice in that enforcement action, yes or no? gov. walz: i cannot speak to things that were not included in the briefing. >> i'm telling you they were. gov. walz: i don't have that data. i would have to trust you. >> would you apologize to our constituents and law enforcement officers for making them and their emily's less safe with your -- and their families less safe with your incendiary actions? gov. walz: i will congratulate them if they help us work on the

largest pension bill for minnesota law enforcement in 30 years. >> governor, what weapons did you carry in war? gov. walz: congressman, 424 years, i carried -- >> know, what weapons did you carry in war! gov. walz: what did you carry? you know i misspoke. >> you lied to minnesotans! you said that you carried weapons and war! that is stolen valor! my wife served 25 years in the military! she is an iraq war veteran! that is stolen valor and i am -- gov. walz: point of order. chair: point of order. >> stolen valor! you didn't carry weapons in war! gov. walz: congressman, my 24 years with public -- >> you apologize for lying! >> objection. that is not questioning a witness. that is not questioning a

witness. chair: point of order. state your point. >> you are hectoring. you are hectoring. >> governor, you did not carry weapons of war, did you? >> you made your point. gov. walz: you know i misspoke. >> governor, what rank did you retire at? gov. walz: congress meant, i served my battalion as the command sergeant. >> what right did you retire at? gov. walz: i retired an e.a. gov. walz: -- >> you retired at a command sergeant major. gov. walz: i wore the rank. >> you did not retire, did you? stolen valor! here is a picture of your challenge coin. i'm disgusted with you. >> chairman, the time has expired. >> you called half from

supporters nazis and fascists, and that is why the minnesota police association did not support you in the last election! gov. walz: well, i support them. >> on behalf of the folks from the land of rocks and cows! [gavel] chair: the chair recognizes ms. tilly from new york. rep. kelly: thank you for allowing me to be in this important oversight hearing. happy to have the governors here to hopefully answer some questions. just to address a couple things that i have heard in this committee hearing -- i have appeared in oversight before. i do serve on the much milder ways and means committee. i want to say a couple of things about this committee, what we are doing today, about sanctuary cities. we are all children of immigrants. my grandparents met at ellis island. they sat in quarantine. they came here to work. this is why this hearing is about people who have taken

advantage of our borders and our country, who have come in as illegal cartels who are overrun in my district in new york 24, and these people have taken operational control of our southern and northern border. we need our governors to make sure that they are providing the law enforcement backup, and not assisting and aiding and forgetting these immigrants. particularly the cartels. i'm sick of having everyone defending my constituent. tom homan is doing an excellent job and served our country honorably. his big concern -- i think it is a big concern for me. governor hochul was not there when i was in the state legislature, as lieutenant governor or governor. but i was one of the leaders on human trafficking. in one of the important questions that tom homan talked about repeatedly is, where are the 300,000 children -- children who were human trafficked -- by

people who were profiting off of this human trafficking. human trafficking. innocent children all through our interior. we don't know who they are. those are the people i'm concerned about. what isis trying to do is get to those people who are taking these children and profiting off them, and having no regard. that is what worries me most. we have gotten off track on a number of things. what concerns me is we have this defund and demoralize the police movement, brought to a level of defunding and demoralizing ice agents who are simply doing their job to protect our borders. what concerns me -- governor hochul, i'm going to address you because you are my governor. people address the billions of dollars that new york state taxpayers, the way the highest taxpayers in the entire nation no -- we are always in a struggle with california. who is more? who is less? i think we are winning the race no. not a good distinction, by the

way. not a good distinction to have a northern border that is overrun by human trafficking, bringing illicit drugs into our communities. i have had three parents in my own home community where their sons died of overdoses because of illegal fentanyl. these are real issues that are coming from people that are coming across our borders. we know we have spent billions of dollars on all kinds of illegal immigrants in new york state. the estimate is between new york city and new york state. it is about $7 billion. that is new york tax dollars come up tax dollars. people i serve who go to work every day. all we are trying to do is keep these people safe. you were talking about keeping these communities safe. i'm one to ask you a question. i have got a series of questions. some of them have been asked by my colleagues. i'm one to ask you right now, because you are the governor of our state and you have been presiding over a pretty disastrous situation with our prisons, including one of the notch -- and one of them including a maximum-security prison, is in my district.

are there criminal illegal gang members in the new york city prison system -- in the new york prison system right now? if there are, i want to know how many. if you cannot get me the answer, can the staff provide us with general information on that? gov. hochul: i will tell you this. i totally agree with you that more needs to be done to protect our border. we have asked for support from the federal government for the border that you represent and know so well. i have had to deploy $8 million of my own state dollars to amp up -- >> there are state dollars. but let me get to the prisons because i want to get into another thing. are there criminal illegal immigrant gang members in the new york state prison system right now? gov. hochul: if there are, there will be -- >> do you know? gov. hochul: i'm sure there are. regarding -- we already had ice take 1300 of them. >> i'm not asking you that. can you get information about how many of those are ms 13, crips, bloods?

i have toward the prisons. how many are illegal immigrants that are putting other inmates at risk that also are prison guards? these people in our prison system are putting our corrections officers at risk. by you shutting down and cutting off the ability of our corrections officers, who are trained to deal with these kind of people -- we are losing the ability of having trained people here and our national guard are wonderful. but they are not trained to be able to do this and many of them are underage. can i get the information from you on that? gov. hochul: i want to refer that -- when someone is convicted of a crime in our prison, they will be deported. we let ice know 30 days before the end of their sentence. that is why i have sent 1300 people already just since i have been governor out of our country. i don't want them here anymore than you do. >> you talked about you don't support a sanctuary city. right now we have your lieutenant governor, this was

signed into law under governor cuomo -- we have the green light law. it prohibits the local dmv's -- it gives drivers licenses to illegal aliens, which you once did not support, but now you do. under the green light law, would you support repealing the green light law so we can allow ice agents to work with our dmv to find out when these people drive across the canadian border and they have a carload for the venison children, and they can't find any information on them because they have an illegal license? can you give me that information? >> the last question. feel free to answer. gov. hochul: we absolutely share information with such situations on ice. that is our job. >> mr. chairman, i appreciate your indulgence for letting me be on the committee today. i want to welcome our governors here today. governor pritzker, on behalf of my constituents and myself, i have serious concerns about the current state of illinois and

the continued direction your administration is taking when it comes to sanctuary policies. i know we have talked about that today. i want to be clear. your sweeping sanctuary policies are not just misguided in my opinion, but they are dangerous. your agenda puts ideology above public safety, ties the hands of law enforcement, and signals to violent criminal illegal immigrants that illinois is a safe haven. your administration has made the state of illinois among the national outliers for defying federal law, and you have doubled down on policies like the illinois way forward act, which is legislation you proposed and signed. that prohibits local law enforcement from cooperating with ice. including in cases involving violent criminals. you honestly believe that refusing to turn over convicted felons to federal authorities mix our community safer. as a former federal and state prosecutor who has worked closely with law enforcement,

none of that makes us safer or makes law enforcement feel comfortable. instead of working with federal law enforcement to remove dangerous individuals from our streets in chicago and across illinois, you are creating bureaucratic roadblocks and political cover. in my view, that is not leadership. it is government malpractice. illinois families are already struggling with the highest combined state and local tax burden in the country. they should not be forced to subsidize over $2.5 billion in taxpayer money that has been spent on illegal immigrants over the last four years, from our century policies in illinois. i want to mention to specific cases although i could talk about more. a tragic case involving the family of a 63-year-old man who was murdered by a pair of illegal immigrants who were arrested in chicago in january. he was found bound with duct tape and his legs tied with an extension cord. the title of an article was two

migrant men beat chicago businessman to death, left him bound, gagged, prosecutors say, they did ferry 1, 2025. under your sexually policies in the state of illinois. i would like to submit that for the record. the second is the case of two families. i want to highlight chloe and catherine, two girls in the early 20's who were killed in a fatal hit and run by an illegal immigrant in illinois. again, the title from that article -- glenview family seeks justice after migrant suspect kills daughter and friend in urbana hit and run. i would like to submit that for the record. and so i guess the question for you -- as you hear these stories and there are many others, does it cause you to rethink your sanctuary city policies or regret some of the policies you have taken as relates to sanctuary cities? gov. pritzker: thank you, congressman. i'm glad to see you here. i know you are unwilling to meet

with your constituents about the medicaid cuts. rep. lahood: i thought you might not answer the question. i'm going to reclaim my time, because you did not answer the question, which i thought you would. when i asked -- when you hear about victims that suffer violence because of illegal migrants in a sanctuary city state, you said -- we claiming my time. governor pritzker, you mentioned -- gov. pritzker: these are heinous crimes. you are the federal government. you all have the ability to fix this. do your job. do your job, congressman. rep. lahood: i would deflect instead of answering those questions. you said earlier, in a response to a question from chairman, or, that you have -- from the chairman, that you have been critical of president biden and his border policies. he cited a letter, october 2, 20 23, that you authored. i pulled the letter and i was looking for criticism of the

biden border policy. three pages. nothing in there. and when to submit it for the record so everybody can see it. october 2, 2023. not one mention of being critical. gov. pritzker: public statements on national programs? rep. lahood: it is not your time. it was mentioned earlier all these rosy statistics about illinois. i want to mention a couple that were not mention. illinois is the leader in outmigration, people leaving the state of illinois. we have led come for the last four years, five years -- we lost a congressional seat, as you are well aware. we found the lowest population in the city of chicago. people continue to flee illinois. we have the fifth highest on and plummet right in the country, the second-highest property tax rate, the fifth highest illegal immigration population in the country, with over 500,000 illegal immigrants in illinois. none of it got mention, but that is the reality. to be honest with you, i wish

you did not have to be here today as my governor. unfortunately, because of your failed policies, spotlighted illinois, and that truly is unfortunate, and i yield back. gov. pritzker: half of that is completely false and needs to be corrected, and i will if given a moment to speak. our population is increasing. we have a higher population as a result of the census that was done in 2020. it was your republican governor -- >> governor, you don't have time to answer that. gov. pritzker: you work part of those policies. we are turning it around. >> the chair recognizes mr. jack. >> thank, mr. chairman. as the last question are today, mr. walls, i think you are not going to need any more mountain dew after this. just one thing, just to kind of bring this entire hearing back into the perspective, just to help us understand in this committee understand the

policies of your administrations , starting with governor walz -- do you accept u.s. code which establishes that improper entry into our country is illegal and enforceable by the federal government? gov. walz: proper entry meaning not asking for -- rep. jack: as an illegal and therefore criminal act. gov. walz: civil in some cases, criminal and others, yes. rep. jack: just establishing that your administration respects that u.s. code believes -- u.s. code affirms and your administration believes that improper entry into our country is an illegal act and therefore criminal? rep. jack: as the federal code set -- gov. walz: as the federal code says, we believe it. gov. hochul: it depends how the federal immigration authorities enforce it, sometimes it is civil and sometimes on the criminal side. it is up to them to make that determination. rep. jack: one of the reasons why we just want to establish that is, with respect to illegal

immigration, you were elected in your states, but your state's policies affect might state in georgia, affect my constituents in georgia. when you create policies that incentivize illegal immigration, incentivize folks crossing illegally, bringing criminals into our country, it challenges -- a present challenges to us. it present challenges to our ability to protect our constituents. every person on this panel has a story, a painful story, about an illegal immigrant taking the lives of those within our districts. in my district alone in columbus, georgia, a doctor was killed by a drunk driver illegally in our country. we have talked about that ought -- that at nausea. we are also talking about a financial program that is associated with those of us who represent georgia and other states. georgia alone, i want for the record to note that $553 has been associated with the increased cost and increased burdens of my constituents because of illegal immigrants

within our state. in our closing time, we had mayor brandon johnson testified before us. i know you have at times expressed concerns about how he has run his administration in chicago. i'm curious if you support one of the things we talked about in this committee. perhaps you prepared for it. it was a directive he sent to chicago police, erecting them not to cooperate with federal law enforcement enforcing immigration. do you support that action from mayor johnson? gov. walz: i support action -- gov. pritzker: i support actions that follow state and federal law. rep. jack: do you think he has done a good job with law enforcement question mark gov. walz: law enforcement has increased since the choice of barry snelling is the superintendent of police in the city of chicago. rep. jack: what grade would you give mayor johnson? gov. walz: i would not grade the mayor. i would say that snelling is doing an excellent job as superintendent. rep. jack: governor walz, you bring an interesting perspective to this conversation because you

were just a candidate for national office on the ticket that lost. exit polls show a clear bipartisan majority of americans trust president trump to effectively handle aggression. recent polling affirms americans overwhelmingly support president trumps immigration policies by a 30% margin. even cbs published a survey that shows six of 10 americans say it is important to deport illegal aliens. we have established that coming across the border is coronal. i'm curious, given americans overwhelming support a president trumps immigration policies, do you believe your record on immigration is one of the reasons you lost the vice presidency? gov. walz: i'm not familiar with the polls you are talking about. i can only speak about minnesota. there is an anger with how it is being carried out. no one doubts that we need to fix this. what they don't see is a united states senator being taken down for asking a question or a four-year-old girl with cancer being taken out of the country. that is the frustration. rep. jack: i'm curious, what

issues do you believe you failed to litigate properly with voters? gov. walz: i will let history relitigate that. rep. jack: on why immigration was so bad -- when did you first become aware of president biden's cognitive decline? gov. walz: i don't have the expertise to judge. rep. jack: did you have conversations with vice president harris at any point about his cognitive decline? gov. walz: i don't recall. rep. jack: thank you for convening this hearing and thank you to your attention to all the communities you serve. chair: the gentleman leads back. because we had some members on our side that went over, i'm going to yield two minutes to mr. lynch. rep. lynch: thank you. just want to update the gentleman on the most recent polls. you are right, the president did have a favorable mark on his immigration policy early on, but

since the snatch and grabs have started he is underwater 54% of the american people oppose him, his current policy, his active policy he has going on right now. with that, i know, governor pritzker, you had a desire to fire back at some of the allegations to you. you have that opportunity now. i yield you as much time as you need, although if you have any left over, you can yield to your colleagues. gov. pritzker: i appreciate it and i am a sharer. thank you very much, congressman. let me just say that i am so proud of my state and the way we have operated, particularly in the last six and a half years, to protect people, and public safety is so important in our state. i have increased the number of state police in illinois, actually to highs that did not exist before. my predecessor, a republican governor. we also have done a lot to

invest in violence prevention. and you have seen the result of that, and the fact that we have band assault weapons, that we have band ghost guns. i asked the members of congress, the members of this committee, to work to ban assault weapons across the united states. it worked back in the 1990's. it would work again if you pass it, to lower the crime rate and lower the homicide rate. we have so much work to do as a country on immigration reform. and i don't understand why, about 50/50 -- this congress is about 50/50 between the parties. isn't it about time that you got together and got comprehensive immigration reform done? we have seen it over the last 40 years, attempt along the way. it feels every time because republican members are walking away from the table. you all are in control of the congress and the presidency. you can get together with democrats and get something put together that will secure our

border and have a big door that allows people to come who are working hard, who will raise families in the united states and help our economy. rep. lynch: governor walz, you took some incoming today. closing remarks? gov. walz: acting number, thank you to you, and the folks sitting along the wall, thank all of you for coming. chairman, thank you for accommodating. i'm grateful. rep. lynch: governor hochul? gov. hochul: thank you for the opportunity, chairman, ringing number. not sure what to say after today's experience, almost eight hours of sitting here not doing the work of the people of the state of new york. here's what i want to say. my number one priority has always been and always will be keeping workers safe. i believe our polys and our laws. -- policies and laws. i want to express my absolute outrage on what we have seen happen to a u.s. senator, of the

united states of america. we got us of what anyone does, to have someone like that treated like a common criminal, as if he was a threat, and throw him down and handcuff him with three people, shocks the conscience. as a former member of this body, i hope we will all stand up and condemn this and say we can do better. this is a great country. let's ensure that it stays great. rep. lynch: thank you, and ms. skye perryman, thank you for your help today. thank you. >> thank you, ranking member. and i'm going to assume you all have not seen the entire tape from the beginning. i'm sure that whoever is seeing the clips have only shown you the end. i think it will be interesting when you see the entire clip of the incident with the senator. before we close, i want to thank the abraham family again for attending today. the purpose of this hearing is to try to get the illegal immigrant -- the criminal illegal immigrants out of this country.

i think that is a goal the majority of americans have. the governor said under oath that they were not sanctuary states and they would cooperate with the federal government. we will see if that happens. that is good to hear, but we will see if that happens. with that and without objection, all members have five days with which to submit materials and additional written questions for the witnesses, which will be forwarded to the witnesses. if there is no further business, again i want to thank the witnesses for being here today. i know it was a long day. thank you so much and thank you for your service. without objection, the committee stands adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2025] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]